CFB DeptHITS: Wednesday, August 21
With so much going on as we prepare for the college football season opening this weekend; we've picked out the top things to know from the past 24 hours.
We make hundreds of tweaks to these depth charts every day. Some very minor, others will impact a team dramatically. Here, we feature the ones that you’ll want to know and go a little further for context. Again, all to inform you to make the best decisions if you plan to place a wager here and there. Enjoy.
Rutgers ::: LB Mohamed Toure will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL. A tough loss. He was a starting player who rarely came off the field. The linebacker depth is being tested and according to our depth grades, this room may not be able to withstand such a big loss.
Further: So, we saw a few tweets after this news broke that Rutgers has good depth at the position. We just aren’t seeing that with the data. I’m sure some of these players are further along than we have them, but until we see it on the field, we can’t assume it.
Here is a look at the new LB room for Rutgers minus both Toure and with Tyreem Powell still nursing an injury of his own:
Take a look at the full Rutgers depth chart as it stands here »
Georgia ::: RB Trevor Etienne remains questionable to play in their week one game against Clemson. Don't think for a second the opponent doesn't matter in this decision. Etienne faced some legal issues this off-season and we are still awaiting word on a possible suspension. Leaving him as "questionable" on the Injury & Status report.
Further: We have him as questionable and await any potential suspension before the week one game against a really good opponent. Sure, the Dawgs always have good depth at the position, but Roderick Robinson II is still nursing an injury of his own and that depth would be tested if they decide to punish Etienne. Just something to keep on the radar and don’t be surprised if it happens.
Georgia Tech ::: Put Brett Seither on the I&S report after news broke that the expected starting tight end would miss the 2024 season with a knee injury.
Further: Bummer. Seither was in line to start and they now move Avery Boyd to the tight end room officially to share time with Yale-transfer Jackson Hawes, who is a veteran (redshirt Senior) but hasn’t seen this level of competition. While this is never a fun situation, it certainly won’t crush the dreams of the Yellow Jackets offense. The tight end wasn’t expected to be a major part of the passing attack.
North Texas ::: The secondary takes a big hit as it is announced S Isheem Young is out for the season with an undisclosed injury. Updated the DB room and shifted playing time projections accordingly.
Futher: Another bummer. These G5’s just don’t often have the kind of depth to sustain a loss like this. Young’s rating of 13.8 is quite a bit higher than anybody else on the roster - outside of stud NT Roderick Brown (15.0). He spent time at both Ole Miss and Iowa State before
SMU ::: Updated Injury & Status report with RB Camar Wheaton announced out for the season with another injury that led to surgery. Others that will be out week 0 vs. Nevada: Andrew Chamblee, Braeden Flowers and Mike Yoan Sandjo-Njiki.
Further: See below for the full, updated depth chart heading into week zero.
Oklahoma ::: Removed WR Andrel Anthony from the Injury & Status report as he has "no limitations" right now. He's fully back.
Further: Very good news for this wide receiver room and the offense as a whole. Anthony is second on the depth chart, only behind Deion Burks, and we expect him to be a very important part of this passing attack and a reliable target for redshirt Freshman starting QB Jackson Arnold. We have him at a healthy 15% target share this season. That puts him at 65-70 looks this season.
Iowa ::: Added SS Xavier Nwankpa and S Koen Entringer to the Iowa Injury & Status report. Both are listed as "probable" to track as DC Phil Parker mentioned that "as it stands" they should be ready for the opener. Meaning, there is something going on and we should have it on the radar.
Further: If it weren’t a player the caliber of Nwankpa (17.2), we probably don’t have this on the list. Frankly, he’s one of the best safeties in the game today and if it is mentioned that he is working through something; we need to have it on the radar. We’ll see if anything else comes out before the opener against Illinois State in week one.
View full Iowa Hawkeyes depth chart »
Ole Miss ::: WR Antwane "Juice" Wells is back at practice but working in slowly. He has a non-contact black jersey on. He remains questionable as injuries have been a problem over past 18 months for the talented receiver.
Further: He’s always hurt and that’s a shame. It would be something to see him healthy for a full season in this offense. While it is encouraging that he’s returning to practice; we will temper expectations until we see him on the field.
Florida Atlantic ::: Cam Fancher has won the starting quarterback job for the Owls. This as expected since his transfer in from Marshall, but it was noted earlier in camp that Tyriq Starks was giving him a good challenge.
Further: No real surprise here. It’s healthy to have competition at camp, even if we know that it’s more for show. That said, in this case, there have been some rave reviews of the former JUCO QB Starks. If anything happens to Fancher, that’s who we will see.
Rice ::: True freshman Taji Atkins has made a name for himself at Rice camp and we are moving up into the rotation and getting a small amount of carries this year.
Further: When we say small, we mean around 8-10% of the carries, which puts him at about 2-4 touches per game. But, as a true freshman, that’s saying something. We’ll track his progress and could see a situation of a budding star here.
Baylor ::: Updated the two injuries on their list right now to "probable" after HC Dave Aranda addressed both WR Ketron Jackson Jr. and LB Matt Jones' missing the scrimmage. He expects both back this week. Moved them to "probable" to track.
SMU ::: Updated the depth chart with the official two-deep being released for the week zero game against Nevada.
Further: Here are some notes to consider:
Interesting to see Brashard Smith, the former wide receiver, atop the running back depth chart. With Camar Wheaton announced out for the season, it should be a three-headed monster at RB; We made the move and changed this to a full-on committee between Smith, LJ Johnson Jr. and Derrick McFall.
OL: Justin Osborne moves over to start at center with Jakai Clark now moving to start at RG. Nate Anderson beat out Caleb Johnson for the starting RT spot.
LB: Alexander Kilgore is listed as the backup MLB and WLB, so he will see a lot of the field. Upped his playing time projection to ½ snaps.
View full, live and updated SMU Mustangs depth chart now READY for week zero here »
UCLA :::: Removed RB Jalen Berger from the Injury & Status report as he is now fully integrated and going through drills. Still not sure of his role; but he's available.
Further: The Michigan State transfer sure is talented, but we just haven’t seen him on the field in some time. He’ll need to some quick study to move up in an already somewhat crowded room. We’ll track it - but don’t expect a ton out of him at the very beginning of the season.
Nevada ::: Minor updates made based on the official release of the two-deep depth chart ahead of the Wolfpack week zero game against SMU. Pat Garwo III is not listed on the depth chart despite returning to practice this week.
Further: Here are some notes on the changes we made based on the update provided by the team:
More on Garwo: he just got back from injury to practice to maybe he just needs a little more time. We are going to put him at second (behind Sean Dollars) and keep his carry share less for week zero.
WR: Moved Jaden Smith up to a starter role.
RET: Kitan Crawford listed as the primary kick returner.
View full, live and updated Nevada Wolfpack depth chart ready for week zero »
Georgia Tech ::: Updates made to the RB, WR, TE and DB depth charts based on the official depth chart released by Georgia Tech prior to the week zero game against Florida State.
Further: Here are some of the notable edits to the depth chart:
RB: True freshman Anthony Carrie is listed third; Moved Evan Dickens down to fifth in the pecking order.
WR: Chase Lane listed as one of the three starters; moved him up and give him a target share boost.
TE: Moved Avery Boyd from the WR room over to starting tight end; likely splitting time with Jackson Hawes after the season-ending injury to Brett Seither
Georgia Southern ::: JC French is officially named the starting quarterback for the Eagles this season. He gets the keys to a fast-paced, pass-heavy offense led by Clay Helton and company. Should be fun.
Tulane ::: We know there is a three-way battle going on for the starting quarterback job at Tulane; now new head coach Jon Sumrall mentioned that all three could take the competition into the first game of the season.
That is what we have for today. Please follow along on X for other updates and please subscribe and share!
